Jeff named 1WineDude.com Best Wine Blog in the Consumer category for 2009, here’s what he had to say about our little virtual space in the wine blog-o-world:

“Joe Roberts at 1WineDude (http://www.1winedude.com). I pay close attention to traffic for top wine blogs and Joe has ascended into the very upper echelon in 2009. Traffic is one thing, but the really impressive thing about Joe’s blog is he has grown his site free of agenda and with an engagement-oriented, populace-style approach that isn’t replicated by other top bloggers. Plus, he does frequently laugh out loud funny posts. Named top wine blog by FoodBuzz and mentioned in Forbes this year, Joe is one to watch.”

Thanks, bro! I’ve got no idea what he’s on about regarding the mention by Forbes (I can confirm that I am not yet among the 500 richest men in the world).

I’m touched and humbled to be part of the lineup that Jeff has mentioned for his 2009 nods, the list is chock full of awesome online wine writing andall of his mentions are well worth your time (if you’re not already a frequent reader of the bloggers he mentions). The nodto 1WineDude.com is particularly fulfilling for me, because Jeff possesses a keen mind and an even keener pen, and his award-winning blog writing has been an inspiration for me for the last few years. I just hope that I can continue to fool smart people like Jeff… live up to the high expectations that folks like Jeff have for little blogs like mine!

Jeff has added a Part II as well, in which he goes beyond the wine blog-o-world to highlight his take on other bests in the wine industry at large for 2009. It’s an even more compelling list than Part I, and includes Jeff’s best wine / winery of the year – check it out.

The podcast is titled Leaving The Nest, in reference to the Sebastiani boys going out on their on in terms of their wine brands, but I found it eerily suitable to the short discussion that Kaz and Randy had about my post. Randy called it “the best wine blog post ever” – a bit too superlative, even for me, but I was honored and touched by the sentiment. Especially considering that I almost didn’t run the article because I felt I didn’t quite catch the vibe and continuity in it that I was aiming for – so it almost became a throwaway piece.

Leaving The Nest – that really sums up how I feel after publishing the posts on the virtual pages of 1WineDude.com, because I never really know where the conversation is going to lead after an article has gone live. And I love that. I love that I could never, ever predict a reaction like Randy’s, or the types of challenges, stories, anecdotes, questions, and insights that I consistently read from the comments made by 1WineDude readers. By people like YOU.

Honestly, it’s the dialog with you that keeps me going on this blog. That and the opportunity to drink nice wine while outlaying the smallest amount of cash possible.

I mean, I try to respond to as many comments as I can, because the main difference between wine blogging and printed wine media is the fact that no article is “finished” when it’s posted on a blog – it’s a discussion, and evolution in which you take part and in which your role is essential to teasing out the most interesting aspects. It’s an aspect that is impossible in printed media, it’s what makes blogging unique, and it turns an otherwise “finished” statement into a jazz composition – I lay out the framework, and you guys and gals add the solos, the tempo and key changes; YOU are the ones who really make it come alive.

So, whenever you get the chance this week, when you’re sipping some wine with dinner or are out at a bar with friends, let’s raise a glass together – Here’s to the opportunity to continue to make kick-ass, beautiful wine blogging music with you for a long time to come!

I’m not usually at a loss for words (and I suspect that the condition is temporary and will wear off in a few nanoseconds), but my reaction to1WineDude.com winning Best Wine Blog in the Foodbuzz.com Blog Awards is… uhmm…. WOW! And THANK YOU. Thank you to Foodbuzz, to all of the people who took the time out to nominate and vote for the blog, and to you for putting up with me for so long! Fellow nominee, ‘friend of the Dude’ and all-around wine blogging powerhouse Dr. Vino was voted “blogger you would most want to be your personal sommelier” (the other wine-related awards category).

I’m not gonna get all ‘Dick Cheney re-elected’ on you and say it’s a ‘clear mandate from the people’ in support of taking wine seriously but not taking yourself too seriously, and I don’t want to make more out of the honor than it should be, but winning this award did give me a few seconds of serious pause, because Foodbuzz.com seems to be a pretty big friggin’ deal right now (at least in the U.S.).

I was fortunate enough to have been contacted by Foodbuzz.com early in their development, as part of their Featured Publishers program, and I’ve watched them build a (very) large community of (very) talented foodies in a (very) short amount of time. Their success is actually a bit staggering – Foodbuzz.com now gets millions of visits every month. Their reach is, in a word, enormous (and it’s still growing).

Anyway, following is a snippet of the internal dialog going on in my head during that few seconds of serious pause (FSSP):

Me: Maybe 1WineDude.com really is making a difference in the world of wine and helping people to take an emboldened approach a potentially daunting topic? I suppose that stranger things have happened, right?

Me2: You mean like three wine critics and one Japanese cartoon driving a massive amount of wine spending dollars worldwide. Also, why are you using words like ‘emboldened’ and ‘daunting’ when you’re talking to yourself? No one should use 15th century words when they’re talking to themselves.

Me: Good points. Jerk.

During the FSSP, I did contemplate taking a more serious approach on the virtual pages of the blog, now that I can officially call 1WineDude “award winning.” Fortunately, that didn’t last very long.

I have one regret about of this this – I wasn’t able to make the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival, which by all accounts appears to have been a huge success (both Randall Grahm and fellow nominee Alder Yarrow had good things to say about the event while it was unfolding via twitter). I plan on doing everything that I can to make the trip for next year’s event.

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